Cellular or mobile phone devices are radio devices operated by users to place and receive calls using wireless provider networks. Such networks use low-powered radio transmitters to define mobile telephone systems, with each transmitter covering a distinct geographical area or “cell.” Computerized network equipment enables the hand-off or switching of a “call” (a generally two-way connection from one phone to another) from one area to another, thus enabling either phone to move from one cell area to another during the call without interrupting or losing the connection between the phones. This structure enables service providers to provide large-scale geographic coverage to users via their individual mobile phones.
It is desirable to design a mobile phone to be compact and portable. However, meeting the needs of users in conducting calls with other users, and in the case of “smart phone” also performing personal digital assistant (PDA) and other data processing tasks, requires cellular phone devices to incorporate a variety of in-built components and functionalities to connect to cellular service and other data providers (for example, radio transmitters and receivers, as well as Wireless Fidelity (“WiFi”) and other wireless node connection components).
Central processing units (CPU's) and memory components must be included for performing data processing, and also for executing call processes required by network providers. Cell phones must generally include Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) card structures for uniquely identifying the phone and thereby authorizing connection to a given cellular provider network.
Specific and different components are generally required to be present within the mobile phone to enable radio channel access, communication and connection to different cellular provider networks via different signal encoding standards. Illustrative but not limiting or exhaustive examples of signal encoding standards include time division multiple access (TDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), code division multiple access (CDMA), orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA), High Speed Packet Access (HSPA), Public Data Network (PDN), Long-Term Evolution (LTE), Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) and third-generation mobile networks (3G), and still other encoding standards will be apparent to one skilled in the art.
Other structures required within a mobile phone include audio speakers and microphones for receiving and sending audio data during a call, and batteries for providing operative power, along with associated modules and components that enable their functioning.
Accordingly, the design of a cellular phone must often balance the competing objectives of maintaining a small, portable and easy-to-use physical form figure, while also having the robust processing capabilities to meet the needs and desires of the end user in interacting with cellular providers and other wired and wireless data networks and connections.